FiiO FT1 Pro Open-Back Planar Magnetic

[SowonAoD]

Between Ft1 pro, sundara and a used edition XS, which would be a better pick form long term use, especially considering comfort level and durability?
I'm currently having hd600 and FT1 as well, but still want a planar headphone just for different taste

 

[solderdude]

Now I'm confused and don't know which one is better.

They are all incorrect by definition. The EQ is only correct for the used targets and fixtures as well as chosen standards.
Simply pick the one you prefer/like best and tweak that to your hearts content....

Between Ft1 pro, sundara and a used edition XS, which would be a better pick form long term use, especially considering comfort level and durability?

Comfort only you can decide... durability is mostly determined by the pads (padding) and perhaps some mechanical construction in the headband.
They will be quite similar in these aspects.

I still own (but not use) Sundara and modified Edition XX (so not XS) and returned the FT1 pro. But... if I did not have the (2nd hand) Sundara already I would have kept the FT1 PRO just because I liked it a bit better.

There is little point in owning the Sundara and FT1 PRO, the obvious difference is the hifiman have some 'sharpness' to it that the FiiO doesn't.
It's a bit like owning a HD600 and HD650... not like owning HD650 and HD6XX (unless one is a collector).

 

[johny_2000]

They are all incorrect by definition. The EQ is only correct for the used targets and fixtures as well as chosen standards.

Could you be more specific?
I followed Oratory1990 and Amir's recommendations for headphone equalization, and here are my results:
B&K 5128 -> DF 5128
GRAS 43AG-4 -> Harman OE 2018.

 

[solderdude]

Amir does a loosely based correction (based on his GRAS45 configuration and hearing) if he would have measured it, he does so for all his EQ.
Oratory bases it on his (different) fixture and target and who knows what position(s)
BK 5128 (with whatever target/compensation) will also give different results, certainly when entertaining different targets based on whatever theories.
All those computer generated EQ is just based on different standards and targets and only complies to those standards and targets.
It just 'looks' near ideal in measurements/simulations but your ears (HRTF) might disagree a bit with any of those but could be closest to one of them.
After all they all are modeled after some 'average' human oral path (5128 is closest to it most likely) but then the used target also comes into play.
As Harman (and other) research clearly found ... there is no single correct target but a rather substantial delta in preference.
Harman just chose an average that covered most (thus not all) preferences. Yours may or may not fit that 'average'.

In the end it will all give different FR on your head as your ears very likely are not having the same HRTF as any of those fixtures (standards)

So ... pick one that sounds 'best' to your ears and maybe tweak that obtained EQ a bit more to your taste / conditions (such as seal).

When one opens Oratory's pdf's you'll notice Konstantin recommends to adjust certain bands 'to personal taste' (for exactly that reason).

Any of those fixtures and analyzers cost a boatload of money. One chooses one (or 2) and goes with it and stays with it to ensure all measurements comply to the same standard and target for comparative reasons.
That's what science is about really... standards so measurements are comparable to that standard.
Indicative at best what concerns 'absolute truth', accurate to well define standards.
People owning such gear (and made their choice as to standards) just stick with the standards, how could they not ?

It is also why there are different manufacturers and different standards and one can even configure them in certain ways and do their own compensation for their fixtures.
Try to do that with your own ears ... make them comply to some standard.

 

[johny_2000]

Okay, I tried the EQs on these headphones and here are some conclusions:
Both simulated EQs sound terrible

FiiO FT1 Pro Open-Back Planar Magnetic

You can turn up the bass really loud without distortion (needs some power) and remains 'clean' where most others start to show some issues. What also helps with Audeze (no EQ) is the substantial dip above 1kHz so when playing loud they do not become shouty. What I don't like about Audeze is the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

FiiO FT1 Pro Open-Back Planar Magnetic

You can turn up the bass really loud without distortion (needs some power) and remains 'clean' where most others start to show some issues. What also helps with Audeze (no EQ) is the substantial dip above 1kHz so when playing loud they do not become shouty. What I don't like about Audeze is the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Try to do that with your own ears ... make them comply to some standard.

I got a much better result with GRAS-based measurements and the Harman OE 2018 target curve. Keeping in mind the need to ignore the 9 kHz dip as this is a measurement specific to this setup, I used @sai measurements and the 7-band AutoEQ as a reference line for my own personal adjustments to taste. Here's what I got:

Preamp: -5.0 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 40 Hz Gain 5.0 dB Q 0.7
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 230 Hz Gain -1.5 dB Q 1.2
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 1700 Hz Gain 2.0 dB Q 2.2
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 2100 Hz Gain 2.0 dB Q 3.0
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 2900 Hz Gain -3.5 dB Q 2.9
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 5900 Hz Gain -4.0 dB Q 3.0
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 7500 Hz Gain 3.5 dB Q 0.8

I like the way this EQ sounds on these headphones.

 

[tamask01]

@solderdude Thanks for the measurement.
I went to a studio and listened to this ft1 pro that was connected to a K7, and it was quite pleasant to listen to, with great directionality and clarity.
My question is that, can I EQ the bass of the openback ft1 pro to match that of the closed back ft1, or if I can't, does the closed back version have a similarly pleasant sound?

I say "pleasant" twice because I listened to a different headphone and its tuning was waaay off... like 's' and 'p' sounds in speech were very loud. The fiio didn't have that problem.

 

[johny_2000]

My question is that, can I EQ the bass of the openback ft1 pro to match that of the closed back ft1, or if I can't, does the closed back version have a similarly pleasant sound?

Sai from unheard lab compared these headphones.

 

[solderdude]

My question is that, can I EQ the bass of the openback ft1 pro to match that of the closed back ft1, or if I can't, does the closed back version have a similarly pleasant sound?

open FT1 PRO vs closed FT1

They differ more than just the bass. No problem in boosting the bass >30Hz in the FT1 PRO to FT1 levels
Clarity (and sharpness) differs as well so if you want that to match too you might need to EQ the 1.5kHz for matching the clarity.

I can't guarantee that you will find both equally 'pleasant' before and/or after EQ.

 

[tamask01]

open FT1 PRO vs closed FT1

They differ more than just the bass. No problem in boosting the bass >30Hz in the FT1 PRO to FT1 levels
Clarity (and sharpness) differs as well so if you want that to match too you might need to EQ the 1.5kHz for matching the clarity.

I can't guarantee that you will find both equally 'pleasant' before and/or after EQ.

Thanks a lot big man.
I checked out the audio shop's items list and they offer both products, so I guess I'll just listen to both, one after the other, and if I like the sound signature of the open back better, I just pull out the bass below 200hz with equalizer apo, and leave everything else as is.

 

[tamask01]

Sai from unheard lab compared these headphones.

Thanks, I just saw your reply sorry.
I checked out the website and found that there was an auto eq option that kind of told me exactly what to do, to match the Harmann curve. I kept any changes below 300hz, and just like that I have an excellent eq settings done that I can try when the headphone arrives. I ordered both models, I'll just return the one I like less.

 

[tamask01]

@johny_2000 @solderdude my dudes thank you for your suggestions, I got both headphones, was trying them out for a couple of days, and the FT1 Pro won in my book, with some bass boost so I still have that rumble even on low volumes, which is the way I prefer using headphones.

For anyone else reading this later, the pair is perfect for gaming, content consumption and listening to music as well. I'm sensitive to harsh, high pitch sounds and even video game effects aren't fatiguing in these over hours of play in one go.

Here's my equalizer settings I use in EqualizerAPO:

Preamp: -6.0 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 22 Hz Gain 5.1 dB Q 0.500
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 60 Hz Gain 3.3 dB Q 0.800
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 230 Hz Gain -0.7 dB Q 1.300
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 2900 Hz Gain -2.6 dB Q 3.000
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 5700 Hz Gain -1.8 dB Q 3.000

The way I got this was through Sai's website, you can select a pair of headphones that were measured already and auto-eq it to match the Harman curve as a reliable base.
From that, I removed the up of high frequencies as I like them as is on the headphones, kept the ones that dimmed high freq a bit and added a bit more bass manually.

 

[johny_2000]

Here's my equalizer settings I use in EqualizerAPO:
The way I got this was through Sai's website, you can select a pair of headphones that were measured already and auto-eq it to match the Harman curve as a reliable base.
From that, I removed the up of high frequencies as I like them as is on the headphones, kept the ones that dimmed high freq a bit and added a bit more bass manually.

You are much higher than the Harman OE 2018 Target with your PEQs in the sub-bass and mid-bass ranges. But it's a matter of taste!

 

[tamask01]

You are much higher than the Harman OE 2018 Target with your PEQs in the sub-bass and mid-bass ranges. But it's a matter of taste!
View attachment 425197

yeah you're right, after listening to it a bit more, I updated my filters, see the edited comment. this headphone can actually crunk out the bass and it was oppressing some details.

with this curve I get the rumble and also get the details.

 

[johny_2000]

yeah you're right, after listening to it a bit more, I updated my filters, see the edited comment. this headphone can actually crunk out the bass and it was oppressing some details.
View attachment 425201
with this curve I get the rumble and also get the details.

Ok, now the curve is much closer to the target and probably the sound is cleaner.